SB 1.17.20 (1965)
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT No. 20
Apratarkat anirdesyat iti kesu api nischayah Atra anurupam rajarse vimrisa swa manisaya
ENGLISH SYNONYMS
Apratarkat—beyond the power of reasoning, Anirdesyat—beyond the power of thinking, Iti—thus, Kesu—in somebody, Api—also, Nischayam—definitely concluded, Atra—herein, Anurupam—which of them is right, Rajarse—Oh the sage amongst the kings, Vimrisa—judge yourself, Swa—by your own, Manisaya—power of intelligence.
TRANSLATION
There are some thinkers also according to whom nobody can ascertain the cause of distress by arguments neither one can know it by imagination nor anyone can express it by words. Oh the sage among the kings just make your own judgement by thinking over them by your own intelligence.
PURPORT
The Vaisnavites or the devotees of the Lord do believe it, as above explained, that nothing can take place without the sanction of the Supreme Lord, He is the supreme director as He confirms it in the Bhagwat Geeta (B.G. 15/15) that He as all pervading Paramatma stays in each and everyone's heart and keeps vigilance of all actions of the living being as witness of all activities by the same living being. The argument of the atheist that one cannot be punished for one's misdeeds unless it is proved before a qualified justice is refuted herewith as we accept the perpetual witness constant companion of the living being. A living being may forget all that he might have done in his past or present life but one must know that in the same tree as the material body the individual soul and the Supreme Soul as Paramatma are sitting like two birds. One of them or the living being is enjoying the fruits of the tree while the Supreme Being is there to witness the activities. Therefore the Paramatma feature or the Supreme Soul is actually the witness of all activities of the living being and by His direction only the living being can remember or forget what he might have done in the past. He is, therefore, both the all pervading impersonal Brahman as well as the localised Paramatma in everyone's heart. He is the knower of all past present and future and nothing can be concealed from Him in respect of all activities of the living being. The devotees know this truth and therefore they discharge their duty sincerely without being too much anxious for being rewarded or so. Besides that nobody can estimate the Lord's reactions either by speculation or by scholarship why does He put one into difficulty and why He does not do it for others. He is the Supreme Knower of the Vedic Knowledge and as such He is the factual Vedantist and at the same time He is the compiler of the Vedanta. Nobody is independent of Him and everyone is engaged in His service in different manners. In the conditioned state such services are rendered by the living beings under force by the material nature while in the liberated state the living being is helped by the spiritual nature in the matter of voluntary loving service of the Lord. There is nothing incongruity or inebriety in His actions all on the path of Absolute Truth. Bhismadeva correctly estimated the inconceivable actions of the Lord (see Page 509 Vol. II). The conclusion is therefore that the sufferings of the representative of religiosity and that of the representative of the earth, as were present before the King Maharaj Parikshit, is a planned one in order to prove it that Maharaj Parikshit was the ideal of executive heads as he knew it well how to give protection to the cows the (earth) and the Brahmins (religious principles) the two pillars of spiritual advancement of the human society. Everyone being under the full control of the Lord, He is quite correct in His action when He desires something to be done by some one irrespective of consideration of the particular case. Maharaj Parikshit was thus put into a test for his greatness and let us see how does he solves it by his sagacious mind.